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Text Sleipnir carried Apple Bloom back into town and dropped her off at what Apple Bloom called the 'babysitter house,' the male looking disgruntled at the mass of foals inside the hollowed-out shop. One thing almost all of them shared was how unhappy they looked at being forced to stay inside, and Sleipnir huffed before glaring when a soldier marched over and started scolding Apple Bloom; the mare fell silent, however, when Sleipnir leaned forwards and rumbled: "The foal was with me. Is this a problem?" That got him a meek whimper and quick shake of the head, and he had smiled benevolently, patted Apple Bloom on the head, and then said kindly: "I shall see thee back at the farm for dinner, my friend. I look forwards to hearing all about thy day." He glared pointedly up at the soldier, who winced and nodded rapidly, and then Sleipnir had huffed and left. Almost immediately, however, he'd been grabbed by Applejack, who glared up at him as he'd looked flatly down at her before she had finally sighed and muttered: "Alright, sorry. Come on, though, I got orders to bring you to Verdant. City-boy is pissed, too." "Well, that is to be expected, I have punched him twice now." Sleipnir said mildly, and Applejack sighed and shook her head, but the enormous stallion winked at her and cheered up slightly as he thought he saw her trying to repress a smile. "Well, what's this? Do we finally have a sign of life amidst the rubble that thou art, Applejack?" "Okay, yeah, maybe I like hearing Verdant got his face broken. He just... moves in here, starts taking over operations, has all these papers from the Royal Council that I can barely make heads nor tails of..." Applejack shook her head, grimacing a little and saying finally: "I was fine with defending Ponyville. I was even... okay... with fighting Luna, honestly. But... but now I got a smooth-talking unicorn apparently in command of all the military operations and claiming he's a real big-wig... something here ain't right." Sleipnir halted, and Applejack frowned and turned around to see the earth pony standing with his forelegs raised, a look of triumph and irony on his face as he declared dryly: "And finally the mad mare arrives at the single correct conclusion she has made since perhaps the start of this whole disaster!" "What the hell is your problem? You were fighting beside us too, hell, you even prepared a lot of our troops yourself!" Applejack shouted angrily, gritting her teeth as she leaned forwards, and Sleipnir dropped his hooves as he looked moodily back at her as she reached up and poked his chest several times. "You told us yourself, demons are dangerous! That... Scrivener and Luna are dangerous, and that you were gonna fight them-" "Exactly! Me!" Sleipnir reached out and childishly yanked her hat down over her face, making Applejack curse before she yanked it off and glared up at him furiously, frazzled, barely-braided mane spilling in all directions around her head. "And I prepared thee so all of thee could defend thyselves in the worst case scenario... but thou, thou wert the one to help bastardize those teachings, understanding that if silver and iron wert the demon's bane, then they could be used as weapon, not just as defense! I taught thee about traps that would catch or dissuade demons, and thou dug pits lined with nettled silver stakes!" "Catching them, injuring them, it ain't enough." Applejack replied angrily through grit teeth, shaking her head before she said coldly: "Look, I don't know why Verdant said to trust you, even though you came back from Enstasis without a scratch and punched him out. But what I do know is that I've been proven right: those demons tore those soldiers apart, just like they did to the zebra... they're monsters. They're monsters, and the only way to stop them is to kill them." Sleipnir only shook his head slowly, looking at the mare with disappointment as he said quietly: "Is that truly what thou believes? Then thou hast not simply gazed into the abyss... thou has plunged headlong into it. Thou should have listened to the old adage, and been warier of thyself than the monsters thou fought... for in doing so, thou may have avoided this wretched fate." "What the hell do you know? You... you're just one pony, taking orders from his own higher-ups, and sure, everypony here respects you but none of them look at you as a leader! I'm the leader, me." Applejack grimaced even as she said this, a faint shiver running through her as she glared challengingly up at the titanic stallion. "I'm the one they all depend on to make the tough calls, I'm the one they all look up to, I'm the one who gives the orders, and you better start damn well remembering that." Sleipnir shook his head slowly, softening as he stepped towards her and reached a hoof up to rest on her shoulder gently, leaning down and saying quietly: "Aye, thou hast the respect of an army. An army of scared and trembling not-soldiers whom slaver over thee because thou does everything in thy power not to lead them, but to please them and tell them what they want to hear. Oh aye, I doubt neither thy prowess nor thy ability to handle responsibility... but thou art trading the respect of thy family for the respect of the town. And I have to wonder, Applejack, does thou even have any real friends any longer outside thine own household?" "What the hell do you know..." Applejack shoved at him, but it was as useless as trying to push away a brick wall, and the earth pony mare cursed under her breath before she turned away and shook her head even as a flush rose in her cheeks, snapping: "Come on, let's not keep Verdant waiting." "Yes, yes, time for me to be scolded again." Sleipnir said disgustedly, shaking his head moodily as he followed behind her. He studied her silently as they headed back towards the converted warehouse, and Sleipnir shook his head moodily before he said mildly: "I saw Cheerilee on guard duty. Tell me, how many others has thou press-ganged into the military today?" "We need every pony we can get for the war effort. I don't like it but I have to listen to Verdant Vintage's orders." Applejack said shortly, shaking her head briefly. "I thought you of all ponies would understand that, Sleipnir. You're supposed to be some great hero, after all." Sleipnir, however, only smiled wryly at this. "'Supposed to be,' aye. And furthermore, Celestia, Luna, and I traveled Equestria far and wide together... but rarely under the flag of any baron or monarch. We were not trying to save or unite Equestria back then, Applejack... we were trying to save Equestrians. The nation did not matter to me then, and does not matter to me now... only the ponies of this nation do. I do not like being involved in war, even though I am a warrior; and a war like this is one that in the past, I would have gladly shied away from or preferred to act as peacekeeper, not strategist and killer of my own kin." Applejack snorted at this as they approached the warehouse, replying distastefully over her shoulder: "Then maybe you need to grow up, Sleipnir. I get that you're trying to see the good in everypony, sure, but what we're fighting for here-" "Oh spare me, Applejack, I am tired of hearing thee spew thy propaganda." Sleipnir grumbled, and the mare glared over her shoulder at him even as she threw the doors to the converted warehouse open, and Sleipnir snorted as he marched past her into the holding compound, muttering: "Thou makes a sharp contrast to ponies like Cheerilee, who still have a little sense about their heads." "Then if you prefer her company so damn much, why the hell don't you stay with her instead of making your fat flank cozy at the farm, abusing every inch of my hospitality that you can?" Applejack asked sharply, and then she reared back in surprise when Sleipnir smiled over his shoulder at her with sympathy and pity that hurt her more than any insult ever could. "Because, fair Applejack... whilst the poor mare obviously needs the touch of a handsome stallion like myself, what she does not need is my help. Not in the ways that thou and thine family do." Sleipnir's smile faded a bit as he turned away, saying quietly: "It only saddens me that so far I have failed to make thee see and understand the folly thou strides towards, Applejack... one would think the fact thou made thy little sister cry would be a clear enough sign, after all." Applejack opened her mouth at this, wanting to scream, to shout, to argue as the stallion calmly strode into the facility, and yet she had no words as anger and bitterness churned above stirrings of guilt and shame before she cursed quietly and spun away. Sleipnir glanced over his shoulder and watched her leave as the doors swung slowly closed, then he sighed a little and turned his eyes forwards, muttering: "We are all nothing but rats aboard a sinking ship." He sighed, then paused in the middle of the concrete corridor to look slowly upwards, past a skeletal framework of timbers to a walkway along the second floor. Offices and lonely rooms sat here and there, locked to the framework by enormous bolts, little more than boxes of wood and metal that looked as if they belonged sitting outside at some lonely construction site... which they likely once had before the rickety warehouse had been modified into this quasi-military facility. He could see Kvasir standing at the top of the walkway, glaring down at him balefully, and Sleipnir rolled his eyes as he strode past several soldiers and up the already-rusting metal stairs as he called moodily: "Has thou recovered from that nasty bit of rain? Thou must not at all be used to the wild weathers of Equestria." The unicorn pursed his lips, but as Sleipnir stepped up onto the walkway, he didn't say anything, only jerking his head as he stormed towards an open office. Sleipnir followed him moodily, grimacing a bit at how thin the floor felt beneath his hooves as Kvasir grouchily sat himself behind a desk cluttered with papers, then flicked his horn to the side to slam the door behind Sleipnir. "Proud of yourself, aren't you?" Sleipnir only shrugged, shifting awkwardly along the thin metal flooring as he looked grumpily out through a gray glass window, and the unicorn rolled his eyes before beginning to shuffle through the papers on his desk. He was silent, and the titanic earth pony took the opportunity to gaze around the room, at shelves filled with useless nicknacks and a dented metal cabinet, the doors open to reveal vials and glass jars filled with some kind of blue-tinged elixir... The male's eyes narrowed as he stepped forwards to look closer at this, and Kvasir glanced up, then followed Sleipnir's gaze towards the cabinet before he snorted and flicked his horn, slamming the doors of the metal unit. Sleipnir, however, immediately glared at the unicorn, saying darkly: "That is a treacherous path thou dares to take, Kvasir." "Oh please. I'm just making sure our best-of-the-best will have the extra edge necessary to go toe-to-toe... or perhaps I should say hoof-to-hoof... with Luna's forces." Kvasir retorted distastefully, shaking his head with a snort of disgust. "An Ambrosia infusion will increase strength, durability, and concentration. Now, give me the list of candidates I asked you to prepare." "I can think of precious few warriors whom I would trust to imbue with Ambrosia, Kvasir, it is dangerous. They are mortal ponies, and they could be affected in any number of ways by it... thou would run the risk of driving them insane, killing them, or worse?" Sleipnir shook his head firmly, glaring at the unicorn as Kvasir slowly rose his head with a cold gleam in his eye. "I thought thou said that 'twas evil that had no compunctions!" "There is nothing wrong with this. I'm simply going to amplify what is already there." the unicorn retorted darkly, and then the polymorphed god snorted and shook his head. "We have to be prepared to take every advantage we can find, Sleipnir. I am offering permanent gifts of strength to ponies... funny, the way you lecture me but apparently find it endearing that your sister offers far-worse presents for far-less reason..." "Be wary, Kvasir, 'lest it begin to rain again." Sleipnir rumbled, and the unicorn winced a bit and cowered slightly, making the earth pony snort in disgust before he muttered: "And I do disagree with my little sister's methods, but at the same, understand what ends she reaches for. She is trying to protect and enliven those she cares for... but this? Thou art going to give all the power to all the wrong soldiers and end up destroying thine own forces with an uprising of power-maddened ponies." "Do you really think so little of me?" Kvasir snorted in distaste, looking sickeningly amused as he sat up slightly and shook his head slowly. "You seem very confused, Sleipnir. You seem to have forgotten whose side you're on, and what those sides are. That I represent Valhalla and Asgard, and whatever you might think of me, I am the so-called 'good guy' here. Luna and Scrivener are the villains in this tragic play, and they must be destroyed. One is a Tyrant Wyrm. The other is a traitor Valkyrie who continues to feed and empower the beast, and it may surprise you but if they just magically 'went away' I would not chase them. However, they have no intention of doing that, and instead seem eager to overrun Equestria. To threaten this layer of reality, and perhaps all the worlds. We must take measures to prevent that. We must take pains to stop them. We must do whatever it takes." Kvasir looked towards the closed cabinet as Sleipnir remained silent, and then the unicorn's eyes flicked towards him, asking calmly: "Give me the names of five soldiers you would recommend who would most benefit from the Ambrosia's effects. I have enough for sixty but if you're so concerned about the elixir, we'll start small and see how they hold up. Time is on our side, not the enemy's." Sleipnir sighed a little, then he lowered his head, feeling like he was betraying friends as he said finally: "Big Macintosh is the only pony I would trust to handle the elixir well. He is of sound mind and strong body, and has an honorable heart. Applejack is far too close to the edge, the Ambrosia could poison her thoughts even further, and Rainbow Dash is loyal and honorable and strong but in a way... very... very lost at this moment in time, and I cannot blame him. If thou truly wishes to test the effects of thy sordid brew, then give the last four elixirs at random to the first regiment, the ponies who have trained the longest and the hardest for this madness. Thou does not judge ponies 'strong' in the same way I do, after all." The unicorn frowned at this, but didn't argue before Sleipnir looked up and asked calmly: "A question for a question, Kvasir: did thou have the ponies in the wilderness slaughtered?" "I did." Kvasir said calmly, nodding once, and Sleipnir gave the unicorn a look of disgust, but the polymorphed god only snorted and shook his head in distaste. "Don't give me that look, Sleipnir. This war had to be started sooner rather than later and I can think of no better way than sacrificing a few pawns." Sleipnir scowled darkly at this, and the unicorn winced a little before he looked awkwardly down and adjusted the papers over his desk, muttering: "You still don't get it, do you? I understand that we have to protect these ponies but compared to me... compared to you even, Sleipnir... they are little more than... than plants. And sometimes you have to prune a few plants back in order to benefit the rest." "May I leave, Kvasir? I fear that otherwise I may attempt to feed thee thy desk, and 'twould be a shame to mash such a pretty piece of furniture. Far more of one than to mash thy vain facade." Sleipnir said disgustedly, and Kvasir grimaced as he leaned nervously back in his seat, the back of the chair bumping against the wall quietly. He hesitated for a few moments, then shook his head and finally said mildly: "Your return has been met with mixed feelings. The soldiers are both glad to have you back, but question your loyalties and worry that you've been... twisted. Therefore, I'm pulling you out of patrol and military duties and assigning you to work with the civilians. Specifically, since I heard you showed such an interest in it earlier, I'm assigning you to look after the foals during the day. In the early morning you can handle trap-checking and repairs and at night you can take first watch. It should be more than enough to keep even the mighty Sleipnir quite busy." Sleipnir looked less-than-thrilled with this, glaring at the unicorn before he said disgustedly: "If thou thinks there is any way to keep me out of trouble or from finding methods by which to communicate with Enstasis, thou art sorely mistaken, Kvasir. In fact, no, I shall thank thee for the privilege of looking after the foals, and with gladness in my heart that I no longer must lead expeditions into the field to kill innocents." "They are not innocents. They are demons and monsters, and must be eradicated as such." Kvasir said calmly, and Sleipnir only shook his head slowly in response before the polymorphed god straightened on the other side of the desk and added coldly: "And you will not communicate with-" Sleipnir reached a hoof out and shoved the desk firmly backwards, and the unicorn wheezed as the furnishing pinned him back against the wall, his eyes bulging as he pushed at the desk and the arms of his chair. "S-Sleipnir!" "I would advise thee to watch what thou art saying, friend. Thou has a very bad of letting thy treacherous mouth run away with all kinds of tales, and it becomes very irksome very fast." the earth pony said mildly, stepping forwards and then pushing a little on the other side of the desk, making the unicorn wheeze louder. "'Tis very funny. I imagined gods were things of great power in my vanity, once upon a time... but more and more, I begin to wonder on their true nature. Speaking of mortals like bugs... well, look here, Kvasir, now how does it feel to be pinned like nothing more than a bug, by a being who proudly calls himself 'earth pony?'" Kvasir wheezed... and then Sleipnir finally stepped back, and the unicorn shoved the desk backwards, half-sprawling over the top of it before he snarled furiously up at Sleipnir, rasping: "You play a dangerous game... do not forget that I am the master of Valhalla and-" "And I am honor-bound to obey, aye. 'Tis true." the earth pony nodded agreeably, smiling slightly and leaning forwards as he said kindly: "But the way I see things, Kvasir, I am doing thee a favor through these lessons. For if I had not my honor or was just a little more short-tempered, why, I might actually attempt to kill thee instead of just pummel thee. I am trying to teach thee that no matter how much thou imagines thou art the king of the whole wide world... to this universe, no matter how big or small thou art, thou art still nothing but a little, tiny, insignificant speck. A little humility would go a grand distance in making thou more approachable, young god-child." The unicorn looked up at him moodily, and then he shook his head slowly before Sleipnir bowed his head courteously. "Now, if thou shall excuse me, I am going to head off to sweep Miss Cheerilee off her hooves, as she looked very bored and lonely. Oh, now that feels like the old days! Pretty things waiting for me in every village with longing in their eyes, aye... and a burning fire in their lower regions that 'tis my duty to tend to and make burn hotter before I quench it." He grinned widely at this, winking over his shoulder at Kvasir, who looked at him with disgust before the stallion began to turn to leave. Then he paused at the doorway, raising his head and adding quietly, without bothering to look around: "But, one last word of advice, Kvasir. A Gala is being held at Castle Enstasis. I would recommend going, even though it shall put thy wretched life at risk. I plan to go myself, after all... and if thou does not go, well, it will send a very poor message to Luna and Scrivener, being the so-called new lord of Valhalla and all." "What? What are you talking about?" Kvasir asked with a frown, and Sleipnir only winked over his shoulder before turning towards the door, and the unicorn snarled before slamming his hooves against the desk and snapping: "I command you to tell me!" Sleipnir grimaced at this, hoof against the door... and then he finally rolled his eyes, regretting allowing his mouth to run away with him as he looked moodily over his shoulder and replied grouchily: "Oh, very well, but only because the answer is simple and short. The First Annual Lunar Gala shall be held in Enstasis in roughly a months' time. Invitations are already being sent across Equestria, delivered to the homes of nobles, politicians, and special, fortunate ponies, and 'twill be a grand show of diplomacy from Enstasis. I should not have to tell a genius like thyself what that means, though." "She's gathering followers. Ascertaining her strength... and the timing, the timing is awful, the Royal Council will have sent out the declaration of war this morning and now nobles across Equestria will be receiving these invitations..." Kvasir winced, reaching up and grabbing at his head with a curse. "She'll be able to fortify her holds across Equestria and if we don't play along we'll not only look like the aggressors, we could be mistaken as tyrannizing our own people... the nation is already sorely divided as it is! Luna cannot be allowed to know how much support she still has, as it is interrupting her network and communications has been ridiculously difficult and establishing bases she is unaware of even harder with her constantly-roaming Nightmares and demons..." "Oh good, I see thou art taking this reasonably well." Sleipnir said mildly, and Kvasir shot him a horrible look before the earth pony smiled indulgently. "We could always simply surrender. Let Equestria back down, Kvasir, and deal with Luna and Scrivener honorably." The unicorn gave a short laugh at this, slamming a hoof against the desk as his other shoved against his forehead. "That is not how war works! She has an army, and we must have an army... and Equestria must not be permitted to bend to her vision, she must not be allowed to have the chance to... to warp these ponies to her own image, to make this world a world of vile hedonism and darkness-worshiping ponies! She is evil!" Sleipnir, however, only shrugged slowly, responding quietly: "I do not like it either, but I like even less abusing these ponies as we are. And perhaps it is only the law of nature speaking... Equestria was a beautiful land of light, and it collapsed. That which could be saved was brought back by darkness... let them be ruled by the moon and the stars instead of the sun, and see where it brings them." Kvasir only stared incredulously at the earth pony, and then the unicorn opened his mouth before Sleipnir held up a hoof, saying firmly: "Nay, enough now, foul little god-thing. Thou has had thy speeches and made thy demands, and now I am going to leave and tend to the desires of a pretty mare. Go back to thinking of thy so-thought 'intelligent' strategies and musing upon the arts of war, which thou knows nothing of. I shall do my job, I shall take my pleasures where I can, I shall communicate with my family, and thou shall not stop me or Odin's ghost help me, I will bludgeon thee through the floor and plant thee in the ground, so we may grow some ghastly god-tree that I shall take great pleasure in hacking down and burning." The unicorn winced and shrunk back a little at this, and Sleipnir nodded firmly once before he said dryly: "I would recommend a study of etiquette as well, Kvasir. The ponies do not like thee. Learning to speak as something other than a slimy politician would greatly benefit thy cause." With that, the earth pony turned and pushed through the doorway, striding out onto the walkway and briskly shaking himself off before he nodded firmly once and smiled, forcing the bad thoughts away and letting the good return as he headed calmly for the stairs and away from the petulant god in pony guise. Top ↑ Category:Transcript Category:Story